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Breast Cancer Treatment in China: What Subtype Changes, What a One-Cut Package Doesn’t
Breast cancer treatment in China still depends on subtype, stage, and prior therapy. An oncology hospital is not evidence that it runs a breast program or that it will accept an international patient. This page is the bridge from that question to a records review. It does not sell a one-price package, a mastectomy as an upgrade, or a cure. Drug names and receptor results belong on any serious quote.
Applicability: this page does not confirm foreign-patient access for a named breast unit. Where that access is not published, the hospital is left out.
Subtype before hospitalNo package priceAccess confirmed per case
What has to be true before a hospital name
The plan starts from estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2, grade, nodes, and prior treatment. HR-positive, HER2-positive, and triple-negative disease do not share a brochure. Stage changes the usual sequence, which is why the stage page sits next to this one. A quote that hides drug names, or that offers one operation for every subtype, is not a plan.
How breast cancer is treated, and what to check first
The treatment plan for breast cancer depends on the tumour subtype (the ER and PR receptors and the HER2 protein), the stage, and any treatment already given. Below is a short summary of how Chinese and international guidelines approach this. An oncologist proposes the actual plan after reviewing the pathology, scans and treatment summaries.
Tests needed for a review
The diagnosis is confirmed by pathology, a lab study of tissue taken at biopsy or surgery. The tissue tests decide which drugs can be discussed.
ER, PR and Ki-67
ER, PR and HER2 are tested in every invasive breast cancer. If ER and PR are positive, hormone therapy is discussed. Ki-67 shows how fast cells are dividing and also affects the choice of treatment.
HER2 and HER2-low
The exact HER2 score matters (0, 1+, 2+ or 3+), and a 2+ result needs an extra ISH test. It decides which anti-HER2 drugs can be discussed, including when HER2 is low.
Imaging
Mammography and ultrasound of both breasts and the lymph nodes are needed. MRI is added when results are unclear, and with a BRCA mutation, several tumours or implants. Scans for spread to other organs are mainly done at later stages or when risk is high.
BRCA test
A blood test for inherited BRCA1/2 mutations shows whether a PARP inhibitor can be used. Who is offered the test is explained below.
Treatment by subtype
Hormone-sensitive cancer is treated mainly with hormone therapy, HER2-positive cancer with anti-HER2 drugs plus chemotherapy, and triple-negative cancer with chemotherapy, with immunotherapy added at an early stage. The table lists drugs most often discussed on top of this base. All of them are registered in China.
| Subtype | Drug | When it is discussed and what to know |
|---|---|---|
| Hormone-sensitive, HER2-negative | Ribociclib + hormone therapy after surgery | For high or intermediate risk of recurrence |
| Hormone-sensitive, HER2-negative | Dalpiciclib + hormone therapy | A Chinese drug; for advanced cancer, and since 2026 also after surgery when recurrence risk is high |
| HER2-negative, BRCA mutation | Olaparib after surgery | For high recurrence risk after chemotherapy; needs a confirmed inherited mutation |
| HER2-low and HER2-ultralow | Trastuzumab deruxtecan | For inoperable or metastatic cancer after earlier treatment; the exact HER2 score is needed |
| HER2-positive | Trastuzumab + pertuzumab, including as an injection under the skin | Usually 12 months in total before and after surgery; heart function is checked before, during and after |
| HER2-positive | Trastuzumab deruxtecan | For inoperable or metastatic cancer after anti-HER2 treatment |
| HER2-positive | Pyrotinib | A Chinese tablet; for recurrent or metastatic cancer |
| Triple-negative, early stage | Pembrolizumab + chemotherapy before surgery, then pembrolizumab after | If there is no reason to avoid immunotherapy |
| Triple-negative, advanced | Immunotherapy + chemotherapy | Needs a PD-L1 test on tumour tissue |
| Triple-negative, advanced | Sacituzumab govitecan | After at least two lines of treatment |
| Triple-negative, advanced | Sacituzumab tirumotecan | A Chinese drug; after at least two lines of treatment |
Registration does not mean a drug suits a given case: the oncologist decides based on subtype, stage and treatment history.
Surgery: keeping the breast or removing it
Breast-conserving surgery (removing the tumour with a margin of healthy tissue) suits most patients. Radiotherapy almost always follows; skipping it is considered only in special cases. Large studies show that survival after breast-conserving surgery with radiotherapy is the same as after removing the whole breast.
The breast cannot be kept, for example, with several tumours in different parts of the breast, growth into the skin or chest wall, inflammatory cancer, or previous radiotherapy to the breast. Age alone does not decide the type of surgery. If the tumour is large, chemotherapy before surgery can shrink it and make breast-conserving surgery possible.
The armpit lymph nodes are usually checked with a sentinel node biopsy. If that node is clear, full removal of the armpit nodes can be avoided.
Breast reconstruction
Reconstruction is part of treatment, and the doctor must tell you that you have the right to choose it. It can be done during the mastectomy or later, for example after radiotherapy. Timing and method do not affect survival, but reconstruction should not delay treatment.
Reconstruction is not done with stage IV disease or recurrence, during chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or within 6 months after radiotherapy. Smoking, severe obesity and vascular disease raise the risk of complications.
BRCA testing and PARP inhibitors
International guidelines recommend offering BRCA1/2 testing to everyone newly diagnosed with breast cancer at age 65 or younger, and to older patients in some situations, such as triple-negative cancer, a family history, or when a PARP inhibitor is being considered. Chinese guidelines refer patients for genetic counselling, among others, when cancer is found at 45 or younger, in men, and with several relatives who had breast or ovarian cancer.
If a mutation is found, olaparib after surgery is discussed for HER2-negative cancer with high recurrence risk after chemotherapy. For advanced triple-negative cancer with a BRCA mutation, Chinese guidelines also name the Chinese drug fuzuloparib; its availability for this diagnosis is checked separately.
Documents to send
- Pathology report from the biopsy and, if you had surgery, from the removed tissue.
- ER, PR, Ki-67 and HER2 results with the exact score, and the ISH result if done.
- Mammography, ultrasound, MRI, CT or PET-CT as DICOM files, not photos of a screen, with the reports.
- BRCA and PD-L1 results, if done.
- A list of treatment so far: drugs, dates, number of cycles and response; surgery and radiotherapy reports.
- If you had anti-HER2 drugs, your echocardiogram results.
An oncologist will review the documents free of charge and tell you which options are realistic in your case.
Sources: Chinese national and Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines, international guidelines (ESMO, ASCO), official drug registration data.
What this site can say about hospitals
Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center have their own guides on this site. Those guides describe the hospitals. They are not a contract for breast-cancer care and they do not prove an international patient will be accepted for a given subtype.
Older copy on this URL also named CAMS/NCC and PKU Cancer as public cancer hospitals. This revision does not add a booking claim for them. Their international breast-program access is not published on an official foreign-patient page, so they are not offered as a route.
A registered breast cancer trial is a separate question from a treatment plan. Eligibility and access are not decided here. A hospital named on a registry is not a ParkMega trial referral.
Fuda and Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou are oncology hospitals with their own pages. Neither page is a breast-cancer program page. Treating either name as “the breast campus” is a mismatch. A case review can ask whether a file fits a documented service. It cannot invent that fit.
Prices, CAR-T, and packages
There is no published breast-cancer package price on this site. Drugs often cost more than the operating room in systemic treatment, but that sentence is not a quote. Cancer treatment cost in China explains why an itemized estimate needs the diagnosis and the inclusions. CAR-T is not established breast-cancer care. A CAR-T advertisement needs a registry identifier before it is anything other than a claim. Reconstruction is a separate decision, not proof of a better oncology plan.
Red flags
- One price for HR-positive, HER2-positive, and triple-negative disease.
- Mastectomy sold as an upgrade over breast-conserving surgery.
- Payment demanded before the receptor report is read.
- “Latest immunotherapy” with no subtype and no drug name.
- A cure claim tied to a hospital logo.
When a case review may help
Use the button on this page to open the case-review steps: what you need, which records help, then a short WhatsApp message if you choose to send it. The message does not contain your diagnosis. Files are attached inside WhatsApp, not stored on this website. The review does not guarantee acceptance, a visa, a price, or a drug.
In this cluster
- Breast cancer treatment
- Treatment by stage
- Latest treatment
- How curable it is
- Immunotherapy
- Treatment in China (this page)
Questions people ask
How much does breast cancer treatment in China cost?
This site does not publish a package price. A useful estimate has to name the subtype, the drugs, the operation if any, radiation, and what is excluded. Cost pages elsewhere on the site are hospital-specific and are not breast-cancer quotes.
Can breast-conserving surgery be done in China?
It is standard care in appropriate anatomy and stage, including in NCI’s description of stages I to III. This page does not name a hospital that has confirmed it offers this to international patients.
Which hospital should I book?
Do not book from a subtype guess. Fudan and SYSUCC have hospital guides here. Access for a breast-cancer case is still unconfirmed. Fuda and Modern are not documented on this site as breast programs.
Who needs a BRCA test, and what do PARP inhibitors offer?
International guidelines recommend offering testing for inherited BRCA1/2 mutations to everyone newly diagnosed with breast cancer at age 65 or younger, and to older patients in some situations, such as triple-negative cancer, a family history, or when a PARP inhibitor is being considered. If a mutation is found, olaparib after surgery is discussed for HER2-negative cancer with high recurrence risk after chemotherapy; it is registered in China. Include the test result with your documents for a free case review.
Can the breast be reconstructed during the same operation?
Yes. Reconstruction can be done during the mastectomy or later, for example after radiotherapy. The doctor must tell you that you have the right to choose it, and timing and method do not affect survival. It is not done with stage IV disease or recurrence, during chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or within 6 months after radiotherapy. The oncologist and plastic surgeon decide together what suits your case.
Sources
- NCI, Breast Cancer Treatment by Stage. Subtype and stage framework used to judge packages.
- NCI, Drugs Approved for Breast Cancer. CAR-T is not treated as an established breast-cancer drug on this list.
- ParkMega hospital guides. FUSCC and SYSUCC pages are hospital guides, not breast-program contracts.
Last updated: 24 October 2026. US approvals are not proof that a hospital in China stocks the drug or will accept an international patient.
Review a breast cancer case for a China route
A cancer hospital is not proof of a breast program or of international-patient access. ParkMega does not promise acceptance, a price, or a cure.
A breast-cancer file is not a country ranking. China vs the US keeps drug approvals and access separate from subtype.